1. Field of the Invention
A multiple purpose agricultural machine for cultivating and harvesting fruit bearing trees comprising fan means, spray means, trimmer means, and collection means attached to a mobile enclosure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This invention relates generally to multiple purpose agricultural machines for cultivating and harvesting fruit bearing trees.
One of the most commonly encountered problems in harvesting fruit from fruit bearing trees is the removal of the fruit from its stem. Some of the first methods of mechanically harvesting the fruit included the clamping of the trunk of a fruit bearing tree and shaking it until the fruit fell off. This practice evolved a step further by the design of clamps adapted for use on branches and limbs. These methods were found to be unsatisfactory due to being time consuming, causing damage to the tree and fruit and the incomplete removal of the fruit. Another development in this area included the use of high velocity air blasts to disengage the fruit from the trees. These prior machines generally operated by directing the high velocity blast of air against the side of the tree whereby the momentum of the air penetrates throughout the foliage and impacts with the fruit with sufficient force to cause the fruit to snap from its limb. High velocity blasts of air were found to result in severe damages to the leaves of the tree. In an attempt to make the air blasting apparatus more effective, air ducts were designed so that the air blast would be blown upwardly, laterally and downwardly upon the tree. This type of apparatus has been found to induce a slight amount of oscillation of the limbs to aid in the removal of the fruit. As the limb is deflected upward by high velocity blasts of air, the inertia of the fruit tends to sever the stems of the fruit from the limb.
Other problem areas in this agricultural area are directed to the harvesting and cultivating of fruit bearing trees. To overcome such problems the designing of an apparatus that can enclose the fruit tree and perform functions thereon has been suggested in the prior art. Such prior art devices which do enclose the fruit bearing trees would require such dimensions that their transportation between groves on conventional roads could be considered generally impractical.
Another commonly encountered problem in the use of mechanical harvesters is that the trees are often on hillsides, or situated on other than level terrain. Therefore, a harvester travelling down a row, for example, might have its wheels on one side disposed substantially lower than the wheels on the other side. If the harvester is tilted, the branches of the tree would strike the side of the interior walls of the harvester so that it is either inoperable or requires substantially wider dimensions. Therefore, there exists a need for a harvester that can properly level itself on a horizontal and vertical basis.
A harvester which travels the row of trees and operates while continuously moving down the row of trees, encounters the problem of trying to center itself since in a normal row of trees quite often the trees are offset relative to the centerline of the row. Ideally, this requires a preferred harvester to have the ability to change its disposition laterally relative to the centerline in a random manner, dependent on the placement of the next tree. At present a number of the devices shown in the prior art can accomplish this only by manual operation.
Representative prior art devices are shown in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. McDowell 2,660,021; Lapins, et al 3,008,724; Webb, et al 3,635,004; Billings 3,943,688.